Senator Scott Bundgaard has finally ended a five-month ordeal stemming from a February freeway altercation with his ex-girlfriend by pleading no contest to a misdemeanor endangerment charge Tuesday.
Bundgaard, the "tired and embarrassed" Arizona Republican representative, initially entered a not-guilty plea for misdemeanor assault and endangerment charges. However, in a plea agreement with Phoenix city prosecutor Aaron Carreon-Ainsa, the misdemeanor assault charge was dismissed in exchange for Bundgaard pleading no contest to the endangerment charge, reports The Republic.
A no contest plea is an alternative to a pleading of guilty or not guilty. The defendant does not admit guilt, but he also does not contest the charges made by the government. Instead, the plea subjects the defendant to conviction as if he pled guilty but does not bar him from denying the charges in a future proceeding.
The victim in the ordeal, Bundgaard's former girlfriend Aubry Ballard, was not surprised her ex-boyfriend took the plea.
"Between the long line of witnesses who corroborated the facts I related to the Phoenix Police and his documented years-long pattern of abusive behavior toward women, a trial surely would have ended with a guilty verdict," Ballard said in a statement.
The charges stem from a February 25 incident in which Bundgaard was accused of pulling over his car on the shoulder of a freeway during a jealousy-induced fight and throwing Ballard to the ground.
In pleading no contest to the misdemeanor endangerment charge, Scott Bundgaard will have one year to attend a domestic violence diversion program, which will result in the dismissal of the entire case. If he fails to comply, he faces five days in jail, fees and 36-months' probation.
Related Resources:
- Find a Phoenix Family Law Attorney (FindLaw)
- Bundgaard Pleads No Contest to Endangerment (Associated Press)
- Plea Bargains (FindLaw)
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